3 Reasons the Utah Jazz Must Avoid F Emoni Bates at All Costs

The prospect who was once compared to the likes of Kevin Durant, Emoni Bates now finds himself hoping for his name to be called within the first 30 selections of the 2023 NBA Draft. The 2022 former five-star recruit has had a tumultuous college career at both Memphis and Eastern Michigan, but now is ready for his shot in the NBA.

With three first-round picks in this year’s draft, one positioned late in the first round (28), the Utah Jazz are a team that could find some interest in Bates. The questions that surround him as a prospect, however, proposes the question on if he’s worthy of a late-round selection.

For me, there’s just a variety of red flags that come up surrounding Bates making him hard to draft. He brings some definite potential as a scorer that scouts have made note of, but there’s still a few doubts.

Let’s look at three of the biggest factors that make Emoni Bates a tough sell as a first round pick in 2023:

1: General Size & Athleticism

A typical modern wing in the NBA now has an inspiring length and wingspan, above average athleticism, and projects as a good, versatile defender. In the case of Emoni Bates, he unfortunately does none of the above. Emoni measured at this past week’s NBA Combine at 6’8, 179 pounds with a 6’9 wingspan. Yes, his height does bode well for his game offensively, but not much else.

Try to picture a lanky, less than 180 pounder in Emoni Bates trying to stop some of the league’s best forwards like LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo on a drive down the middle of the lane. The idea isn’t pretty. The upside on the defensive end will probably never be there for Bates, so knowing that at his best he’ll likely be a one-dimensional player for his entire career, a first-round selection on him may not be the wisest decision.

2: College Competition

Before spending his time this past year at Eastern Michigan, we saw the highly-touted recruit start his college career with the Memphis Tigers and Penny Hardaway. Despite this opportunity, we never saw Bates live up to the expectations. He averaged 9.7 points shooting 38/32/64 splits before deciding to transfer to Eastern Michigan.

Even with a lower level of competition, we didn’t see much improvement efficiency wise, and he still failed to average over 20 points per game. Bates being such a highly regarded prospect that he once was, these are some underwhelming numbers. Until proven at the next level, there will continue to be concerns surrounding if Bates is pro-ready or not.

3: Off-the-Court Concerns

Emoni Bates, while having some intrigue as a prospect, has had some legal history leading up to his pre-draft process. ESPN reports Bates’ arrest this past September 18th consisting of being charged with carrying a concealed weapon and "altering ID marks" on a firearm. While the case has since been resolved, there’s still the consideration future actions that may occur.

While one off-the-court issue doesn’t always result in repeated offenses, Adam Zagoria of New York Times reported an NBA scout describing Bates’ situation, and how his draft stock could still end up tanking:

“Tons of talent. Off-the-court issues have killed his positioning. Nobody is gonna put up with Ja Morant issues unless you are a special player.”

Whether it’s fair or not, the recent activity of Ja Morant will be presented as a potential ‘“what-if” scenario for Bates, effectively impacting his draft stock. Considering the recent negative aura Ja has since created for himself, we could even see teams remove Bates’ from their draft board entirely.

Draft Range: mid-to-late 2nd-round

Despite likely having the opportunity to select Bates in the late first-round, the Jazz would be better served pivoting elsewhere with their 28th-overall selection. There’s just too many piled-up concerns and lack of redeeming qualities to merit taking this kind of risk on him. There’s just multiple other directions we could see Utah go with a way better opportunity to ace the pick come June 22nd.

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